Liv Introduces Multicurrency Visa Card for Seamless Global Spending

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 16-02-2026

4 min

Liv has launched a multicurrency Visa card to simplify global spending.

Transactions are automatically routed to the most relevant currency account.

The system acts as a “safety net”, falling back to AED if needed.

Visa calls it a first for multicurrency cross-border Flex Credentials.

The move supports Emirates NBD’s digital growth and global-minded customers.

If you’ve ever travelled with two or three bank cards tucked awkwardly into your wallet, just in case one currency runs out, you’ll know it can be a bit of a faff. I still remember juggling cards on a work trip and trying to calculate FX charges in my head at the checkout. Not ideal.

Liv, the UAE’s first and largest digital bank by Emirates NBD, is betting that those days can be left behind. The digital bank has introduced a Multicurrency Visa Card that allows customers to pay globally using a single card, with transactions automatically routed to the most relevant currency account. It marks what is being described as a global first: Visa Flex Credential with multicurrency capability for cross-border transactions.

In practical terms, users can hold and spend in AED as well as US dollars, British pounds, euros, Canadian dollars and Australian dollars. All of this is managed in real time through the Liv app. There’s no need to manually switch between currency wallets before making a payment. The system takes care of that in the background.

The technology behind this is Visa Flex Credential. It detects which currency balance is most appropriate for the transaction and applies it automatically. If the selected foreign currency balance is insufficient, the payment falls back to AED, helping ensure the transaction still goes through and potentially reducing extra foreign exchange conversions abroad. For frequent travellers or those who shop regularly from international websites, that safety net could be spot on.

Rohit Garg, Group Head of Retail Products and Chief Digital Officer of Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, said the new proposition is designed to make global spending effortless, allowing customers to use multiple currencies seamlessly within a single secure debit card while lowering transaction costs. He added that Liv continues to focus on redefining its digital offerings to improve customer experience, and that this launch reflects its emphasis on innovation, convenience and choice.

From Visa’s side, Salima Gutieva, Vice President and Country Manager for UAE, described the move as the first time Visa Flex Credentials have been enabled for multicurrency cross-border transactions. She noted that cross-border spending from the UAE continues to grow, and said the solution is intended to provide greater flexibility and control for consumers, while offering banks a scalable way to enhance their digital services.

That said, this launch is not happening in isolation. It fits into Emirates NBD’s broader ambition to strengthen its digital leadership and expand cross-border banking capabilities. Liv, which operates as the group’s lifestyle-focused digital bank, has been positioning itself as a platform for younger, globally minded customers. I reckon this product aligns neatly with that strategy. Startups and founders across MENA, many of whom split their time between Dubai, London and beyond, will probably see the appeal straight away.

Emirates NBD itself operates in 13 countries and serves more than 9 million active customers. As of the end of December 2025, it reported total assets of AED 1.164 trillion, roughly $316.5 billion. The group says that 97% of its financial transactions and requests now take place outside branches, underlining how deeply digital banking has taken root. Liv alone has attracted close to half a million users and is described as the fastest-growing bank in the region.

On the sustainability front, the banking group has also highlighted publishing an IFRS S1 and S2-aligned report with assurance of financed emissions, and issuing what it called the world’s first Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk fully aligned with ICMA guidelines. For a conventional bank, that is not a small step.

And believe it or not, payments innovation still feels like one of those areas where small tweaks can make a big difference in everyday life. A single card instead of three. Automatic routing instead of mental arithmetic at the till. It sounds simple, but sometimes simple is exactly what customers want. Whether it becomes the new normal for cross-border spending in the UAE will depend on adoption, of course. But for many digital-first users, it may well be a welcome shift in how they manage money across borders, even if the tech behind it is more complex than it first apperas.

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